Serena Williams is considered by many to be the greatest of all time but Martina Navratilova did not want to say it personally.
She spoke about Williams after the American's final match at the
US Open admitting that she is the best in the past several decades but shied away from anointing her the GOAT:
"Everybody talks about the GOAT, but you cannot compare generations. There are a handful of people, all-time greats that belong in there. For the maybe the last two generations, she is that. Of all time? It depends how you measure it. It’s really hard for me to say because, obviously, I’m not impartial."
Expanding further on the question, Navratilova added:
"But neither was I thinking Steffi Graf was the greatest when she won 22 majors. You have to look at the whole body of work. We weren’t even playing the Australian Open or even the French Open for a bunch of years. The big one for us was the year-ending championship, which I won eight times. These days, Serena’s the greatest in terms of most majors."
Asked about her legacy, Navratilova responded:
"Bridging so many chasms in the world of sport. She was just a powerful Black woman kicking ass. It really came down to that. Not just transcending tennis, but all of sport. Not too many can claim that. And bringing a new generation to the sport. Also, motivating young girls -- and boys, too -- to not be scared to dream big. She paved the way for so many more."